Congressman Francis Rooney hosted a town hall on Marco Island on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. The crowd became restless when Rooney refused to give a straight answer on if he would support an automatic weapons ban.
Lisa Conley/Naples Daily News

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Andrew Novick, 31, left, of Bonita Springs, asks Rep. Francis Rooney what he plans on doing to "make sure that Parkland doesn't become another red dot on a statistics map." Rooney held a district town hall meeting on Marco Island on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. Novick grew up in Parkland and attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for two years.(Photo11: Olivia Vanni/Naples Daily News)Buy Photo

The people who attended Rep. Francis Rooney’s town hall Thursday wanted a yes or no answer to the question "Would you support a semi-automatic weapons ban?" Rooney’s answer: "How willing are we to throw the Constitution out the window?"

Rooney hosted a town hall on Marco Island on Thursday afternoon, and although the congressman tried to steer the conversation toward his efforts to protect Florida’s natural environment, it was obvious that the crowd only wanted to discuss one thing: gun control.

Nikolas Cruz, 19, a former Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student, has been charged with opening fire on the Florida campus last week, killing 17 people, both students and adults.

The incident has sparked a nationwide debate about gun control, and many at Thursday's town hall wanted to know what Rooney was going to do about it.

“I’m here to see what actions, not words, but actions, Rooney plans to take with gun control,” said Barbara Bonthron, a Marco Island resident and member of the Democratic Women’s Club of Marco Island. “I’d like to see semi-automatic weapons banned or at least controlled so that there are age, mental health and criminal background restrictions.”

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During the district town hall meeting on Marco Island on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018, Rep. Francis Rooney listens to Kate Cunningham's question on whether or not he will "support Chris Murphy's bill to require background checks for every gun sale."(Photo11: Olivia Vanni/Naples Daily News)

Rooney held a second town hall in Lee County later Thursday, where he was confronted by six alumni of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and an angry audience that booed and jeered when they didn't like Rooney's response to mass gun violence in America.

On Marco Island, Rooney agreed there needs to be enhanced background checks to prevent individuals with a history of mental health problems from obtaining a gun.

“Let’s start by getting the irresponsible people away from guns, and then we’ll go from there,” he said. "Just like we have nonprotected speech under the First Amendment, we should have nonprotected rights to own a gun for people who shouldn't have one.

"It was so ridiculous that (Cruz) could get a hold of a weapon, and so heinous, that it's going to call all parties and all persons of all political persuasions to come together and at least enact some reforms," Rooney said.

Chuck Nelson, 74, receives applause and a standing ovation after asking Rep. Francis Rooney if he will "support the ban on the nonmilitary sale of any rapid fire rifles or handguns." Rooney held a district town hall meeting on Marco Island on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018.(Photo11: Olivia Vanni/Naples Daily News)

One of those reforms should be increasing the age limit for buying a gun, Rooney said. As it stands now, a person has to be 18 to buy a rifle and 21 to buy a pistol. Rooney recommended increasing the buying age to 21 for all types of guns.

When one man in the audience asked Rooney if he would support a ban on semi-automatics, the congressman avoided a direct answer and instead emphasized the individuals carrying the weapons rather than the weapons themselves.

"I am for making sure that people who are dangerous don't get guns in their hands," he said, prompting a loud chorus of boos from the crowd. "I'm not voting to abdicate the Second Amendment."

He agreed that "bump stocks," attachments that enable a semi-automatic rifle to fire faster, are not protected under the Second Amendment and should be banned.

Still, Rooney's response did not seem to satisfy the audience, many of whom held signs that read "This is BS."

The signs, which were bright orange, the color that has come to represent the anti-gun violence movement, were provided by Collier Freedom, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that advocates for social issues.

Members of Collier Freedom and other protesters began showing up outside the church half an hour before the congressman was scheduled to speak. Among them was K.C. Schulberg, who said Rooney needs to be held accountable for his pro-gun stances and his high marks from the National Rifle Association.

“I don't think that's a good thing," Schulberg said. "We need to hold him accountable. We cannot allow our children to be slaughtered in their school day in and day out. We have to push back.”

Longtime Naples resident Robert Demareste was another one of the protesters, holding a sign that read "Can a man who buys his public office hold the moral authority to deny healthcare to millions?" On the back of the sign was a picture of Rooney's house in Port Royal, one of Naples' wealthiest neighborhoods.

About a dozen students from Naples High School and Palmetto Ridge High School also made their presence known, chanting: "Tell us Rooney how you dare, to put us all in the cross hairs" and "Close down the NRA; we don't want it anyway."

Neo Cavero, 17, a junior at Naples High School, said the fake bomb threat at his school last year gave him a better understanding of the fear the students at Stoneman Douglas must have had when they realized there was an active shooter in their school.

"I was terrified, and that was just a joke, it wasn't real. What happened at Parkland was real," he said. "These people saw their friends, their family members and people they've known their entire lives die in front of their eyes. This keeps happening again and again, and it needs to stop."

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Andrew Novick, 31, left, of Bonita Springs, asks Rep. Francis Rooney what he plans on doing to "make sure that Parkland doesn't become another red dot on a statistics map." Rooney held a district town hall meeting on Marco Island on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. Novick grew up in Parkland and attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School for two years. Olivia Vanni/Naples Daily News

Chuck Nelson, 74, receives applause and a standing ovation after asking Rep. Francis Rooney if he will "support the ban on the nonmilitary sale of any rapid fire rifles or handguns." Rooney held a district town hall meeting on Marco Island on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. Olivia Vanni/Naples Daily News

During the district town hall meeting on Marco Island on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018, Rep. Francis Rooney listens to Kate Cunningham's question on whether or not he will "support Chris Murphy's bill to require background checks for every gun sale." Olivia Vanni/Naples Daily News

Students from Palmetto Ridge High School protest for gun control outside of Wesley United Methodist Church during Congressman Francis Ronney's district town hall meeting on Marco Island on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. Olivia Vanni/Naples Daily News

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